Though a little scandal might alienate advertisers, it’s pure ratings gold. Last night Glenn Beck had over 3 million viewers at 5pm, second only to O’Reilly for the night. But, Beck had more 25-54 viewers than O’Reilly (888K to 876K). I don’t watch or really even care about the cable news wars, but still…wow. Even though Beck airs before primetime, when there are fewer people watching TV, he had the most 25-54 viewers in the cable news world for the night. Amazing.

Here are the #s (demo in first parentheses) for January 13th:

The O’Reilly Factor – 3,303,000 viewers (876,000) (1,468,000)

Glenn Beck – 3,040,000 viewers (888,000) (1,385,000)

Hannity – 2,592,000 viewers (752,000) (1,158,000)

On The Record w/ Greta Van Susteren—2,104,000 viewers (577,000) (985,000)

Special Report with Bret Baier– 2,067,000 viewers (463,000) (881,000)

Fox Report w/Shep Smith–1,590,000 viewers (454,000) (729,000)

Larry King Live—1,182,000 viewers (299,000) (473,000)

Hardball w Chris Matthews—1,123,000 viewers (381,000) (583,000)

Countdown w/ K. Olbermann– 1,091,000 viewers (320,000) (504,000)

Tonight, Jan 14th 2010, Sarah Palin will be on Hannity and naturally the rating will be through the roof. It is obviously a smart move by Roger Ailes at Fox News and we will continue to see Fox News grow and expand. I am hoping News Corps next acquisition is going to be the once great and profitable New York Times. We will also see CNN, NBC, LA Times and others continue to consolidate (no more Headline, CNBC etc…) or eliminate services.

On the Tragedy in Haiti. Todd and I join the world in extending our thoughts and prayers to the victims and families of those so impacted by the earthquake in Haiti. Our hearts are with the people of Haiti as they rebuild their country. Join us in donating to the American Red Cross relief effort. To assist those in need, consider sending a $10 donation to the Red Cross by texting 'Haiti' to 90999. Redcross Haitian Relief